Question from a Timberwolves fan
by jordanmowbray on May 27, 2011 1:36 PM CDT
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PrintHey Thunder fans, I just wrote an article on Canis Hoopus about some possible trade routes that the Timberwolves should look into and two of them were involving the Thunder. So I was just wondering, from OKC fans, what are the thoughts on the trades?
Here is my actual post on Canis Hoopus..
Hypothetical Scenario #2 - trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder
Michael Beasley, Luke Ridnour and 2011 first round pick (#2 overall) for Russell Westbrook and filler
(Belief that Westbrook wants to be/believes he is the "alpha-dog" of the Thunder... although he's still very young, the Thunder might be inclined to trade Westbrook if a good enough package comes around and/or to get rid of his ego. This trade makes a lot of sense, as Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook are very good friends (both went to UCLA) and are summer workout partners, and on the other side of things, Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant are childhood friends.)
C: Darko Milicic/FA signing (Joel Pryzbilla, Samuel Dalembert, Erick Dampier)
PF: Kevin Love
SF: Wesley Johnson
SG: Martell Webster/FA signing (J.R. Smith, Anthony Parker, Michael Redd)
PG: Russell Westbrook
Hypothetical Scenario #3 - trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder
Kevin Love for Serge Ibaka, James Harden and 2011 first round pick (#24 overall)
(As stated prior, Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook are very good friends, so this makes sense. Love gives them a strong rebounder and an unselfish "perfect complementary" player that doesn't need to have plays written up for him. The nucleus of Love/Durant/Westbrook makes them a sure fire top 3 team in the league for the next 5-10 years. Although it seems as if the Thunder are determined to mould Ibaka into what they believe will be a great PF, this offer might be too much to resist. Getting Ibaka (who will grow into a center's body in time) would push Beasley to his normal position (PF) and open up a spot for Williams (who believes he will be a SF in the NBA). Although it would be painful to lose the franchise player, this trade would give the Timberwolves a ton of depth and a strong, young, all-around team.)
C: Serge Ibaka
PF: Michael Beasley/Anthony Randolph
SF: Derrick Williams/Wesley Johnson
SG: James Harden
PG: Ricky Rubio/Luke Ridnour
Thanks for your time, just thought it would be good to see your perspective on both trades. If there are any minor changes you would make to the trades, or any completely alternate offers that I didn't think of, please post them. Also, for what it's worth, both trades had a fairly strong backing on Canis Hoopus and were both believed to be pretty fair for both sides.
This post does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of Welcome to Loud City or SB Nation. However, it was made by one of the members of the Welcome to Loud City community, so there is a large chance the above post is extremely ballin'!
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I don't know about that first trade.
The pick sounds good, but Beasley is the opposite of what Thunder management looks for in a player, and I’m pretty sure Luke Ridnour abandoned the Thunder when he learned they were leaving Seattle.
The second one could happen…..it just depends how high the Thunder are on Love, and how likely Harden and Ibaka are to re-sign.
Tony.psd = Da Man
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Its sad to see how misinterpreted Beasley is around the league..
His off-court issues were non-existent this year, and he’s rarely played at his natural position (PF) since he got into the NBA, even though its been proven that he is better both offensively and defensively at PF. He’s just a fun-loving guy and by no means has an ego or anything like that… and I can imagine the chemistry between Durant and Beasley is already there.
Although I definitely prefer the 2nd trade, you got to admit the 1st trade is somewhat enticing. Say instead of Luke Ridnour, our 20th overall pick in this year’s draft was added. The idea of trading the 2nd overall pick + filler (or 20th overall pick) for the 1st overall pick, and then draft Kyrie Irving is pretty deadly…
C: Kendrick Perkins/Nick Collison/Cole Aldrich
PF: Serge Ibaka/Michael Beasley
SF: Kevin Durant
SG: James Harden/Thabo Sefolosha
PG: Kyrie Irving/Eric Maynor
Coming from a Timberwolves fan, that lineup seems pretty freakish, extremely young, and would definitely keep you as a top 3 contender for the title for the next 5-10 years… but idk its pretty clear you know more about OKC then I do, but there’s my 2 cents lol
Tell me what ya think
Im from Canada, eh
by jordanmowbray on May 27, 2011 2:36 PM CDT up reply actions
That would definitely be an interesting scenario
Getting Kyrie and Beasley for Russ. But I’m just not sure the Thunder management is going to make many moves right now. I think they are pretty set with this team and won’t look to do too much unless it is a no brainer trade, and with our 3 and 4 position pretty solid, I’m not sure if Beasley is no brainer enough.
WE'RE DANCIN!!!
No way I would do the second trade,
Harden is quickly becoming a stud and Ibaka has improved greatly and the ceiling is no where in sight. Plus getting Love will hurt our interior defense, which was a pretty big concern when bringing in Perk. In my opinion we are giving up too much in that trade. Honestly, seeing Harden’s improvement, I wouldn’t trade James for Love straight up, and I really like KLove.
Good thoughts though, they aren’t too far off, and I enjoy the discussions.
WE'RE DANCIN!!!
My Thoughts.
Scenario #3 is just crazy to me. I don’t see Minnesota trading their cornerstone and lone marketable player and I can’t imagine why the Thunder would trade two young contributers on the rise under cheap contracts. Scenario #2 makes sense talent-wise, but not fit-wise. Hypothetical Westbrook trades need to net either a different kind of point guard or a scoring center that can also anchor the defense. Sorry…
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
In response to scenario #3, Love has already stated that he favors California and it almost seems inevitable that he will be heading there unless the Timberwolves (David Kahn and Kurt Rambis… who are hopefully both fired very soon) get it together real soon. The guy hates to lose and it might make sense to trade him for young pieces as opposed to getting nothing for him. There’s no doubt he would be a great fit on OKC.
My response to scenario #2… refer to my response to Zorgon’s comment above.
Im from Canada, eh
by jordanmowbray on May 27, 2011 6:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Here's The Thing...
If Love favors California, why would Oklahoma City invest so many resources in acquiring him for the short term? Moreover, you ignore the fact that it just doesn’t make basketball or financial sense for the Thunder to swing this deal.
The thing about Michael Beasley is that he’s regressed every year he’s been in the NBA and now he’s basically league average. Westbrook, on the other hand, has improved dramatically every year and is now a legit All-Star trending up towards MVP candidacy. Moreover, it makes no financial sense.
I think you have the right idea of using the #2 pick in a trade rather than drafting another PG or SF/PF, I just don’t believe the Thunder are your partner. Sorry…
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
Rubio...
….negates the possibility of Scenario 2.
Presti would probably think he gives up too much in Scenario 3. I might actually consider it but since I don’t have a vote I won’t really spend time on it.
No and No.
Thanks for coming over and posting, I don’t see the Thunder brass being too interested in these deals though..
Westbrook is almost certainly untouchable. I don’t know why there is so much chatter about trade scenarios involving him. To me it just says that a lot of fans wish they had him and are hoping the Thunder are stupid enough to make a reactionary move.. and reacting to what?
The Thunder just made the Western Conference Finals and lost to the eventual champs in a bunch of close, close games. Westbrook made made all-NBA second team. This kid is also 22 and has made huge strides each year he has been in the league. His only real shortcoming in the playoffs was that his outside shot wasn’t very on. He shot it at a significantly lower clip than during the season. Hey, it happens. Defense had nothing to do with it as most teams were going under screens on him and preferring him to shoot it. Teams decided to key on Durant and go under RW screens so it was his job to take the shot. It was a numbers play and still is. He makes those shots and we are discussing his “psyche” and other speculative bullshit completely differently.
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